Author: Kelly and Geoff

Pahk youah cah in Hahvad Yahd

One of my funniest memories from back when I first went to Alabama and met Geoff was when we went to his regular Monday night group, lovingly called the “Terrorist Knitters”, and I met a bunch of his friends for the first time.  One of them was Bruce.  Bruce was Geoff’s mechanic and Bruce’s wife, Sarah, was an avid knitter and a member of the knitting group.  Bruce and Sarah arrived a bit later in the evening and when Geoff introduced me to Bruce and told him that I was from Boston, Bruce’s face absolutely lit up and he exclaimed, “Boston!  Say something!”

Bruce was under the impression that I was a native Bostonian and that I had a Boston accent.  I had to apologize and explain to him that while I had lived in Boston for a long time I did not, and still do not, actually have an accent.  He was very disappointed.

I was reminded of this memory this evening when I got home from a Red Sox game and happened upon this article on Boston.com.  If there is one place that you’ll hear varieties on what we lovingly call “Masshole-ish” or “Masshole-ese” it’s Fenway.  Geoff and I were theorizing on our way home that the yellow shirted vendors, who all speak with a Boston accent of one variety or another, are actually trained that way.  We suspect that if you’re walking around Fenway selling “ice cold beer” you’ll sell far less than if you’re selling “ice cold beah.”

Anyway, pictures from Fenway will follow.  Today was the end of a four game series against the Orioles and the Sox swept the series.  Though today the score was 8-6 as opposed to the spankings administered earlier in the series.  We were concerned that the Orioles might actually leave town with a little self esteem as a result.  I think Papelbon took care of that when he closed out the 9th inning.

More later, with pictures.

~Kelly

Woof vs. Meow

I’ve always considered myself more of an Animal Person rather than a Cat Person or Dog Person.  Those terms always felt too exclusionary too me.  So I found this little thing interesting when it came through my feed today and I thought I’d share it with all of you.  Where do you fall?

Cat Person, Dog Person, or Animal Person?
Quite the chart. Where do you end up?

Of course it doesn’t mention anything about small mammals.  Or snakes.  Do they count as “Exotics?”  I wonder where my work at the museum with raptors and alligators puts me?  Hmmmmm…..

~Kelly

 

We survived the Fourth of July

Geoff here- last night was a VERY long police detail for me.  I arrived at the police station at around 6:20 PM yesterday and arrived home this morning around 1:40 AM.  In between was a virtually non-stop flood of cars and people.  Everyone had a good time, and I even saw a few people I knew.  But I am still wondering how so many people manage to get into such a relatively small space.  I am just not that big a fan of crowds, I guess.  There must have been half a million people all together.  Still, it was not too bad, relatively speaking, as at least we did not have a lot of violence or troublemakers to worry about.  There was some of that, but none anywhere near where I was, which was on Mass Ave., along the main route (at least in Cambridge) to and from the Mass Ave bridge and thus prime fireworks viewing area.  I was with two regular Cambridge officers, but even with three of us we really had our hands full.  So many people were not paying attention – drivers AND pedestrians.  It really is a miracle no one was hurt.

I don’t get the people who have lived here for a good while and still haven’t figured out that the night of July 4th is a bad time to be anywhere near that part of the Charles River in your car.  I mean, you expect tourists to not know, but people who have been around should know better.  I could not believe how many people I had to tell “no, you CANNOT go on the bridge – it is blocked to all vehicle traffic”…  and they wanted to argue about it.  I don’t make the rules, I just have to enforce them.  And how exactly do you expect to get on the bridge, even if I let you?  You going to navigate through a crowd of several hundred thousand people, with lawn chairs and beach blankets, watching the show?

Still, the fireworks show was pretty spectacular.  I could not hear any of the music from where I was, which is just as well because you just know they would play that Lee Greenwood song that I hate.

Anyway, back to the routine, which these days has been job hunting and house cleaning.

It’s that time of year again…

They’re invading and there is nothing we can do to stop them.  No proactive measures, no way to seal the entrances, nothing.  And you know what?  There are some people who think that their presence here is actually a good thing.

No, I’m not talking about cockroaches, though I might as well be.  I’m talking about tourists.

Today is the other day of the year when our fair city swells with the ranks of Townies, Suburbanites, and those dreaded infiltrators, Tourists.

When I worked in retail on Beacon Hill I used to have to work on the 4th of July.  It was absolute hell.  I worked in an antique store and that day we got hordes of two types of people, thieves and tourists.  The thieves were there for only one purpose, to steal from us or from the tourists.  The tourists were there largely to gawk or to ask us dumb questions.  The #1 top question was, “Do you have any silver by Paul Revere?”

For those of you not in the know, Paul Revere was a silversmith but not a prolific one by any means.  On the rare occasion that one of his pieces is unearthed in a private collection somewhere it is usually sold at auction and goes for big money.  The last time I remember a piece being sold it was auctioned off by a church and the proceeds were used to refinance the rehabbing of the entire sanctuary.  So, no, the tiny little shop I worked for did not and would never have a piece of silver by the most famous and one of the least prolific silversmiths in US History.

Charles St., where I used to work, leads directly to the Hatch Shell where the Pops play and the fireworks take place.  People who are really insane devoted actually camp out overnight so they can get a space on the Esplanade in front of the Hatch Shell the morning of the 4th and they sit there ALL DAY waiting for the festivities to begin.  That meant that at the end of the day on the 3rd and during the day on the 4th we’d be flooded on Charles St. with drunks, revelers, and all sorts of folks looking to make a dime off the tourists who’d flock to Boston for a “genuine American 4th of July experience.”

July 5th in Boston, and on the other side of the river in Cambridge, looks a bit like Time’s Square on January 1st each year.  Trash is strewn everywhere, food, bottles, and, of course, the results of people who drank too much and couldn’t, ahem, make it to a bathroom.  It is mayhem.  Most locals head out of the town for the 4th.  Or, they do what I do, stay inside and batten down the hatches.

Wherever you are, I hope you have a Happy 4th.  I’ll be at home in air conditioned comfort away from the tourist invasion and waiting for Geoff to come home from his patrol.  Think of him as you watch the fireworks, he’ll be out herding cats tourists.

~Kelly

Amanda is traveling, lucky us

My friend and bridesmaid, Amanda, is currently in the South of France.  She’s blogging her adventures here.  She’s an excellent writer, photographer, and she’s a total foodie.  If you are at all interested in hearing about excellent meals, how to make them, and seeing photos of old churches and the hills and valleys of Provence (and who isn’t, really?) I highly suggest you bookmark the blog and check it every so often.  She’ll be there for about 3 weeks.

~Kelly

Hiking in Portsmouth, NH

Yesterday Geoff and I went up to visit his newly transplanted sister Liz, brother in law Dan, and their three kids Will, Ben, and Kate along with their dachshund Ralph.  Liz was, up to that point, the only sibling of Geoff’s that I hadn’t met yet so I was very much looking forward to it.  We made arrangements to take the kids out for the day so that Liz and Dan could have some time to actually get some stuff done around the house.  (They just moved in and are still making the house livable.)

We took Thumbelina and Rerun with us and when we got to NH they met Ralph for the first time.  The dogs got along pretty well and the kids liked the dogs.  Kate was positively *taken* with having a female dog around.  Thumbelina is generally not a fan of the younger set so it took a while for them to get used to each other but they did.

After a quick lunch we piled the dogs and the kids into the minivan and headed off to the Portsmouth Urban Forestry Center.  It is quite an interesting place.  5 minutes from the center of Portsmouth and you can hike self guided trails, walk through meadow and forest, see salt marshes and ponds.  It’s quite a nice place to go, and it is dog friendly.  We packed up the kids, all 3 dogs, and we took along the Little Red Wagon of Brimfield fame and took off.

As you may imagine, an outing like this required hats, sunscreen, bugspray, and water.  But, considering that Geoff is Mr. Prepared and I’m not far behind, we were set.  We did manage to walk out of Liz and Dan’s house without the water bottles for the kids, which was a nice trick, but we had our own water already packed and we had a dog water bottle so everything was fine.  Knowing the propensity of certain individual in the party to fall down, hurt themselves, end up in the ER, or otherwise cause calamities, we also brought along a fully stocked First Aid kit.  Amazingly, nobody, human or canine, needed it.

Naturally, I had to take pictures.  You can find them here.  There were lovely flowers, the kids are ridiculously photogenic, and the dogs were having a great time.  The forest was also naturally lovely, so there are all sorts of pictures there.  Take a look, you won’t be disappointed.

Once we were done we headed into town and went to Canine Cupboard in downtown Portsmouth.  It was 5 whole minutes away from the Forestry Center.  It’s a gourmet dog treat store, toy shop, and all around fun place.  We had called ahead to ask when they were closing and if they had any suggestions about places where we might be able to find outdoor dining that would seat us with the dogs.  When we arrived the owner remembered my call and had an additional suggestion for outdoor, dog-friendly dining, the Portsmouth Gas Light Co.  Also, he had the bumper sticker I have been looking for forever.  The My Dachshund is Smarter Than Your Honor Student sticker.  For $1.00.  The one we got looks different than the one linked, but you get the idea.  For $1.00 who were we to say no?

We thanked him and headed off for the Portsmouth Gas Light Co.  We met up with Liz and Dan along the way and, after finding us a table to seat 7 humans and 3 dogs, we had a great meal.  The folks at the restaurant were super and even brought us a bucket of water for the dogs.

All in all a great day.  Uncle Geoff and Aunt Kelly are a bit tired today.  We’re not used to having kids around and it’s been a while since I’ve had 3 dogs on a lead at the same time, but it was great fun.  We’re already making plans for a trip back up north when we can take Aunt Donna with us.  More photos will most certainly follow when we do.

~Kelly

Yet another reason we love our Sox

The Red Sox have come a long, long way over the decades, and I am proud of them for doing the right things in such a public way.  This is their new video in support of the It Gets Better Project, which offers support for bullied gay teens.  Kelly has been a big fan of Dan Savage for years, and she introduced me to his work, which is how I became familiar with this particular effort. I like how Youk even adds that it’s ok to ask for help, and admits that he himself has been in therapy. – Geoff

My brother takes pictures

As I think I’ve mentioned before, my brother periodically flies to far flung places and builds houses.  For charity.  He gets to work with cool tools and learn interesting languages and see really neat stuff.  Usually when he gets back he send us a link to a photo album of his exploits.

We just received this link the other day.  Some of the photos are really outstanding.  As he said, it is a work in progress, so not all of the captions are in place yet.  But I highly recommend that you look at it.

Enjoy.

~Kelly

Poor, pathetic puppy.

A week and a half ago, specifically Sunday June 19th, we noticed that there was something wrong with Rerun.  For those of you who know Rerun that’s a pretty general statement.  He’s a weird little dog.  Specifically, this time he had a foot problem.  He’d apparently managed to impale a toe or get bitten or something.  Either way, it wasn’t pretty.  His second toe on his front left foot was approximately three times the size it should have been and he had licked/nibbled on it to the point that hair was missing.

Knowing Rerun’s temper, we muzzled him, wrapped him in a blanket, and functionally hog tied him to keep from hurting himself.  He thrashed, growled, probably swore, and tried, despite the muzzle, to eat whatever human body part got closest to him.  Despite all of this we managed to bathe his paw in hydrogen peroxide, clean it, and drain the infection out of it.  Because it looked like, at minimum, an allergic infection, we gave him a weight appropriate dose of Benadryl and decided to call the vet first thing in the morning.

We called when they opened and they had an opening at 11:15am.  By the time we got there is was clear that he was feeling a little better, but his toe was still quite swollen.  The vet, one of the newer members of the practice took a look, inspected all of his feet, and upon finding out from us that he was a self nail trimming dog, opined that it was most likely that he’d split his nail to the quick while chewing on it and that’s how the infection had gotten in.  When she showed me that there was, um, infected fluid, coming out from under his nail, it made total sense.

We came home with a scrip for pain meds, 3 weeks of antibiotics, and the Cone of Shame.  That’s right, Rerun got an e-collar.  This immediately turned him into a Zombie Dog.  He came in the door and refused to move.  He just lay down wherever was most inconvenient and remained there like a rock.  A rock with Sad Puppy Eyes.

Naturally this required pictures.  For posterity, of course.

The Cone of Shame
"Daddy, please take this off. Please???"

 

"I keeeel you."
"Take another picture and I eat your face."

If you look closely in the photos you can see the swollen toe on his front left foot.  It looks MUCH better now and he’s clearly feeling better, though he still HATES the e-collar.  If I can get any more photos without inducing him to kill me in my sleep, I will.

~Kelly